Misbehaving with the Millionaire: The Millionaire's Misbehaving Mistress

“Has hell frozen over yet?” That’s all he needed: more encouragement for the fortune-hunting women out there on the dating circuit. Like he didn’t have enough on his plate already between running HarCorp and raising Evie. Even if he had the inclination, he certainly didn’t have the time.

“That’s what I thought. But I told them I’d ask anyway. Maybe they’ll quit calling now,” she grumbled.

“We can hope, right?”

Nancy shrugged as she collected the now-signed papers from his desk. Knowing they were finished, Will turned back to his computer and clicked the file on Japanese business etiquette open again. He needed to figure out this bowing thing.

“Anything else I can do for you?”

He laughed but didn’t take his eyes off the screen. “Yeah. Find me a Japanese expert to run my meeting.”

His intercom on his desk beeped, meaning the lobby receptionist wanted to put a call directly through—which meant the call was either from Evie or Marcus. Nancy left as he answered.

“Hi, Will. I’m sorry to bother you.”

Hearing Gwen’s voice caught him off-guard. Jewel, the executive receptionist, must have been told something about their situation in order for Gwen to get connected to him directly. He hadn’t thought about doing it, but Nancy obviously had.

“It’s no bother.” Surprisingly he meant that. “Is everything all right?”

“Oh, yes. Everything’s fine. Marcus Heatherton called Evie today to say he’ll be here for dinner tonight.”

He’d forgotten about that. “I guess I should have warned you. Marcus is checking up on us.”

“On me, you mean.” He could hear the smile in her voice. Gwen was sharp.

“How’d you know?”

“After everything Evie’s told me, I’m surprised he’s waited this long.” She sounded amused at the situation, which surprised him. Marcus was well-known, and it wasn’t for his laid-back outlook on life. Surely Gwen had at least heard of him in dealing with her debutantes.

His computer beeped, signaling an incoming e-mail. He glanced at the message and shot back a quick response.

“Mrs. Gray, however, is all atwitter. Something about Mr. Heatherton being impossible to please.”

“Oh, well, there was that one night when the meat was a little tough…”

“So, it’s going to be an interesting evening then.” Gwen chuckled conspiratorially, and the sound was infectious. He liked this side of her. Gwen still seemed tense whenever he was around, and this was one of the few times he’d felt her loosening up.

“Oh, definitely.”

“Actually I wanted to tell you that Mr. Heatherton plans to arrive around six-thirty. I’m hoping you’ll be able to make it home a bit earlier tonight. I think he’s eager to see you.”

That comment brought a full-out laugh. “You have heard of Marcus. Don’t worry. I’ll be home in plenty of time to run interference for you.”

“That’s not what I was implying—”

“Yes it was.” This was fun. How long had it been since he’d had an enjoyable and somewhat normal conversation with a woman? Years, possibly. He eased back in his chair and propped his feet on the desk. “Marcus will be nothing if not impressed by you—what you’ve done with Evie, that is.”

“I hope. Evie’s a bit nervous. You did tell her she wasn’t going to be sent to boarding school, right?”

“Yep.” His e-mail beeped again, and he glanced at the subject line. As much as he was enjoying the conversation, it was time to get back to it. “Anything else I can do for you—short of uninviting Marcus to dinner?”

“Actually there is one more thing. You mentioned before that you wanted me to help Evie with her wardrobe. I’ll be taking her to Neiman Marcus tomorrow.”

Money. Of course. Everything in his life always came back to money. His money. Not that he minded spending it on Evie, but Gwen bringing it up had kind of dampened the mood. For a moment there, he’d forgotten he’d bought her time and attention. Her attention to Evie, he meant. “I’ll take care of it. Anything else?”

“Guess not. We’ll see you tonight.” He heard Evie’s voice in the background then Gwen’s muffled voice as she placed a hand over the phone to answer her. “Oh, Will?”

His intercom was beeping. He didn’t have time for this. “Yes?”

“Evie says not to be late. Mr. Heatherton frowns on tardiness, and it would be rude.” That restrained laughter in her voice snared him again.

“Tell Evie I said she has to wear a dress.” He waited as Gwen relayed the message and heard Evie’s wail in response. The intercom’s beeping got more insistent. “I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

He switched to the intercom line to find Nancy waiting impatiently. “Mr. Hiramine’s assistant is on line three.”

“Great. Tamishi, right?”

“No, Takeshi.”

“Thanks. And tell Davis to just e-mail the sales figures. I have dinner arrangements with Marcus tonight, and I’ll look them over at home. I’ll be leaving early today.”

Nancy’s surprise registered, but he didn’t have time to explain further.

“Konichiwa, Takeshi.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“PAUL ANGERON tells me your backhand is showing great improvement, Evangeline.” Marcus Heatherton wiped his small white beard with a monogrammed napkin and leveled a proud smile at Evie.

Evie brightened as she launched into a spirited rendition of the former Wimbledon winner’s description of her tennis prowess. Gwen lowered her eyes to the table and hid a smile of her own. Evie had Mr. Heatherton eating out of the palm of her hand. A quick glance at Will and his half smile confirmed her thought.

Mrs. Gray had pulled out all the stops for dinner—once she’d finished grumbling, at least. Although the courses were uncomplicated, the food was plated beautifully on gold-rimmed china. The cream linen and the gleaming crystal seemed a bit over the top for a family dinner of salmon and potatoes, but Mrs. Gray had insisted Evie needed the full effect for this evening.

All of Evie’s worries that Mr. Heatherton would find something wrong with her manners seemed to have evaporated. Although she still dominated the conversation a bit more than was correct, she hadn’t interrupted anyone and proved she could tell an entertaining story for her guests.

No question about it. Evie was going to be fine.

Will’s laugh brought her back to the conversation, and she wondered what she’d missed with her woolgathering. Some etiquette tutor she was—mentally wandering away from a conversation was plain rude and she knew better. If only the Harrisons didn’t give her so much to think about.

With Evie, she had an excuse—it was her job to correct, encourage, evaluate and decide what step was next in the run up to Evie’s presence at the Hospital Med Ball. As for Will… well, she had no excuse other than her own unusual fascination with the man. In some ways, he was exactly the man she’d expected—businesslike, busy and often distant. More often than not, she found herself unsure of what to say or do when around him. Plus, she couldn’t decide if his occasional rudeness and incessant BlackBerry usage was deliberate or not.

Regardless, she even found it difficult to follow her cardinal rule of “maintain eye contact,” because staring into Will Harrison’s eyes could turn any woman into brain-dead mush. And if he smiled…Lord, the man should carry a warning label. Plus he could also be kind and funny and completely approachable at times. Like when…

“Gwen?”

She looked up to see everyone watching her. Mr. Heatherton’s frown had returned at her inattention. Evie stared at her openly in mild shock, and Gwen could practically hear her own lecture about attentiveness to others replaying in Evie’s head. Will simply looked amused for some reason. She cleared her throat as she felt her cheeks heat. “I’m so sorry. I was thinking about Evie’s shopping trip tomorrow.”

“Gwen’s sister is a buyer at Neiman Marcus. We’ll be getting my wardrobe up to scratch. What color dress do you think would be most appropriate for the Med Ball, Uncle Marcus?”